20: Petri Dish Meats (T&C Talk)

We discuss the state of “plant-based meat alternatives” then taste seven different burgers, beef and not-beef, to see if we like (or can even identify!) the plant-based ones from Impossible Food and Beyond Burger. These are definitely not your old-school alternatives like Boca Burger or Gardenburger. Do these lab-engineered foods actually taste like beef? Can a self-described carnivore and a non-beef eater find common ground in these patties, or will we be left asking “Where’s the beef?!”
We start off talking about the explosion in the public consciousness about “plant based meat alternatives”, driven in part by Burger King, Carl’s Jr., White Castle and other fast food places including them on their menu (and the generally positive reviews they’ve gotten). Then we dive into the healthiness of eating plant-based burgers compared to beef burgers, talk a bit about the general squickiness we feel about eating foods engineered in a lab, and briefly explore their environmental impact.
Then we get to eating! Producer Jason, a self-professed burger lover, joins us in the taste test, where poke, prod and closely examine each burger to figure out which is which, while debating the definition of “burger” and “meat”.
We wrap up this episode with a philosophical discussion on knowing vs. not knowing what we’re eating, if beef will always be our first choice, and whether the next generation will consider animal flesh to be the weird thing to eat.
Links and Show Notes
What we tried:
Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger patty Version 1
Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger patty Version 2 (“now even meatier” (https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/the-beyond-burger/)
Carl’s Jr. Famous Star with Cheese (https://www.carlsjr.com/menu/nutritional_calculator)
Carl’s Jr. Beyond Famous Star with Cheese (https://www.carlsjr.com/menu/nutritional_calculator)
Burger King Whopper (https://www.bk.com/menu-item/whopper)
Burger King Impossible Whopper (https://www.bk.com/menu-item/impossible-whopper)
Jack’s Prime Classic with Impossible Patty (https://www.jacksprime.com/menus/#main-menu)
Meatless burgers vs. beef: How Beyond Meat’s environmental impact stacks up (https://www.fastcompany.com/90241836/meatless-burgers-vs-beef-how-beyond-meats-environmental-impact-stacks-up)
Great Veggie Burgers are Here, But Are They Any Healthier? - Men’s Journal (https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/great-veggie-burgers-are-here-but-are-they-any-healthier-w449490/)
Impossible Food (https://impossiblefoods.com)
Beyond Meat (https://www.beyondmeat.com)
Carl’s Jr. (https://www.carlsjr.com)
Carl’s Jr. Beyond Famous Star with Cheese (https://www.carlsjr.com/beyondburger)
Burger King (https://www.bk.com)
Burger King Impossible Whopper (https://www.bk.com/menu-item/impossible-whopper)
Jack’s Prime Burgers & Shakes (https://www.jacksprime.com)
Mouthfeel (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouthfeel)
Highway 5 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_5)
Boca Burger (https://www.bocaburger.com)
Gardenburger (http://www.gardenburger.com)
San Francisco Zoo (http://www.sfzoo.org)
Red meat (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat) vs. White meat (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_meat)
IPO (Initial Public Offering) (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ipo.asp)
BYND (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/bynd): Beyond Meats stock ticker
Impossible Foods raises $300 million with investors eager for bite of meatless burgers (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-impossible-foods-fundraising-exclusiv-idUSKCN1SJ0YK)
JUST (https://www.ju.st/en-us) (scrambled “egg” made from plants)
GMO (Genetically modified organism) (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism)—“any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.”
The Barn (https://www.thebarnhmb.com)
Dad’s Luncheonette (https://www.dadsluncheonette.com)
Our thanks to Producer Jason for joining us. You can find him on Twitter @jasonanthonyguy (https://twitter.com/jasonanthonyguy).
Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram:
Lettuce Wrap: @lettucewrappod (https://twitter.com/lettucewrappod)
/ @lettucewrappod (https://instagram.com/lettucewrappod)
Christine Doerr: @christinedoerr (https://twitter.com/christinedoerr) / @neococoaconfections (https://www.instagram.com/neococoaconfections/)
Tammy Tan: @spicehound (http://twitter.com/spicehound) / @spicehound (https://www.instagram.com/spicehound/)
or email us at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]).
That’s a wrap!
Amazon (https://amzn.to/2DBzg5j) and other links may be affiliates. Purchases help support the show. Special Guest: Jason Anthony Guy.

We discuss the state of “plant-based meat alternatives” then taste seven different burgers, beef and not-beef, to see if we like (or can even identify!) the plant-based ones from Impossible Food and Beyond Burger. These are definitely not your old-school alternatives like Boca Burger or Gardenburger. Do these lab-engineered foods actually taste like beef? Can a self-described carnivore and a non-beef eater find common ground in these patties, or will we be left asking “Where’s the beef?!”

We start off talking about the explosion in the public consciousness about “plant based meat alternatives”, driven in part by Burger King, Carl’s Jr., White Castle and other fast food places including them on their menu (and the generally positive reviews they’ve gotten). Then we dive into the healthiness of eating plant-based burgers compared to beef burgers, talk a bit about the general squickiness we feel about eating foods engineered in a lab, and briefly explore their environmental impact.

Then we get to eating! Producer Jason, a self-professed burger lover, joins us in the taste test, where poke, prod and closely examine each burger to figure out which is which, while debating the definition of “burger” and “meat”.

We wrap up this episode with a philosophical discussion on knowing vs. not knowing what we’re eating, if beef will always be our first choice, and whether the next generation will consider animal flesh to be the weird thing to eat.

Links and Show Notes

What we tried:

Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger patty Version 1
Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger patty Version 2 (“now even meatier”
Carl’s Jr. Famous Star with Cheese
Carl’s Jr. Beyond Famous Star with Cheese
Burger King Whopper
Burger King Impossible Whopper
Jack’s Prime Classic with Impossible Patty

Meatless burgers vs. beef: How Beyond Meat’s environmental impact stacks up
Great Veggie Burgers are Here, But Are They Any Healthier? - Men’s Journal
Impossible Food
Beyond Meat
Carl’s Jr.

Carl’s Jr. Beyond Famous Star with Cheese

Burger King

Burger King Impossible Whopper

Jack’s Prime Burgers & Shakes
Mouthfeel
Highway 5
Boca Burger
Gardenburger
San Francisco Zoo
Red meat vs. White meat
IPO (Initial Public Offering)
BYND: Beyond Meats stock ticker
Impossible Foods raises $300 million with investors eager for bite of meatless burgers
JUST (scrambled “egg” made from plants)
GMO (Genetically modified organism)—“any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.”
The Barn
Dad’s Luncheonette

Our thanks to Producer Jason for joining us. You can find him on Twitter @jasonanthonyguy.

Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram:

Lettuce Wrap: @lettucewrappod
/ @lettucewrappod
Christine Doerr: @christinedoerr / @neococoaconfections
Tammy Tan: @spicehound / @spicehound

or email us at [email protected].

That’s a wrap!

Amazon and other links may be affiliates. Purchases help support the show.

Special Guest: Jason Anthony Guy.